TVA - Green Power Providers

Summary

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and participating power distributors of TVA power offer a performance-based incentive program to homeowners and businesses for the installation of renewable generation systems from the following qualifying resources: PV, wind, hydropower, and biomass. The long term Green Power Providers program replaces the Generation Partners* pilot program. The energy generated from these renewable generation systems will count towards TVA's green power pricing program, Green Power Switch. The current signup deadline for the program is February 13, 2015, but will reopen if the capacity limits are not met.

The Green Power Providers program contract term is 20 years. For years 1-10, TVA will purchase 100% of the output from qualifying solar systems at a premium of $0.02** per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from all eligible systems on top of the retail electricity rate. Participants will be paid only the applicable retail rate for years 11-20 of the contract. Premium payments will be reviewed annually by TVA, with plans to phase these payments out over the life of the program. All new participants in the Generation Power Providers program will receive a $1,000 incentive to offset the upfront cost. Participation in the Generation Power Providers program is subject to annual limits imposed by TVA and based upon available budget, the value of renewable technologies to TVA and renewable energy market conditions. 

TVA will retain all rights to all renewable energy credits and any other environmental attributes provided by system. Payment is made by either the Distributor Billing Option or the TVA-Vendor Direct Billing Option. With the Distributor Billing Option, a generation credit is issued by the local power company on the monthly power bill for the home or business where the generation system is located. If a qualifying system produces more electricity than the customer consumes, payment for any excess credits will be issued either monthly or annually, at the discretion of the power company. With the TVA-Vendor Direct Billing Option, participants receive the retail-rate portion of their monthly generation credit from the local power company and the premium rate is issued through a TVA-designated third party vendor.

Qualifying systems will have a minimum total nameplate generation capacity (DC) of 500 watts (W) and a maximum of 50 kilowatts (kW). Systems over 50kW may qualify to participate in TVA’s Mid-Sized Renewable Standard Offer program (link to DSIRE summary). Systems greater than 10 kilowatts in size will be subject to a load requirement. A “load requirement” simply means that the system’s maximum capacity will be limited so that it should not generate more than 100% of the energy usage or consumption at the home or business. TVA will conduct annual program evaluations to set annual MW limits to the program. These limits will be made available on the Green Power Providers web site. 

A limit of 11.33 MW in nameplate capacity has been set for the 2015 calendar year. This represents 7.33 MW in non-residential capacity (1.33 MW of which was carried over from the 2014 program year), and 4 MW of residential capacity. Previously, a limit of 2.5 MW in nameplate capacity has been set for the remainder of the 2012 calendar year and 9 MW in nameplate capacity for the 2013 calendar year.

Installations must comply with local codes and adhere to guidelines established by the program. All equipment must be in compliance with environmental regulations and national standards, certified by a licensed electrician, and meet all applicable codes. Systems must be dual-metered, have an external disconnect switch, be grid-tied, and be validated under an interconnection agreement. Systems under 10 kW are eligible for "fast track" interconnection.

* Existing Generation Partners participants may qualify for a 10 year contract extension to be paid at retail prices.

**Prices reflect Premium Rates for 2015 Calendar Year and are applicable for agreements executed and dated by TVA on or after January 1, 2015 but on or prior to December 31, 2015.